Nnamdi Anekwe: How the politics of deportation might determine who succeeds Gov. Obi Posted By TheScoop on August 4, 2013 by Nnamdi Anekwe The ongoing debate over the propriety of the deportation of Nigerians of South East origin by Lagos state government to Anambra state is a regrettable one. Ordinarily, what could have passed as a normal State to State working relationship, going by their official memos has turned out to be a disgrace when the issue boiled down to execution. The two state governments should be ashamed and official queries should have been directed at both state officials who bungled the task. In an interview with the Nigerian Red Cross Society at Onitsha, majority of the deportees claimed they were arrested on the streets of Lagos for hoarding wares while others were clear cases of mental illness. They said they were detained for eight months and later bundled into a truck and were dumped at Upper Iweka, a notorious enclave at Onitsha in the dead of night. This assertion ran counter to what the Lagos state government claimed was a welfare approach to re-unite these citizens with their family, and therefore creates a moral burden on the government of Gov. Babatunde Raji Fashola. In his response, Peter Obi, Governor of Anambra state wrote a strongly worded letter to President Jonathan and questioned why Lagos state government dumped citizens of Nigeria in Anambra state citing it as a violation of human rights and breach of peace. Gov. Fashola fired back and blamed the government of Anambra state for failing to come identify her citizens and concluded that Governor Obi’s response is linked to the forthcoming Anambra governorship election slated for November 16, 2013. READ: “Anambra Might Reciprocate Forced Deportation”: Obi Condemns Fashola In Letter To Pres. Jonathan READ: Rotimi Fawole: #ScoopLegal: Is Gentrification A Suitable Basis For Forced Deportation In Lagos? READ: Nana Nwachukwu: #ScoopLegal: On Forced Deportation: Lest We Descend Into Anarchy It is quite unfortunate that rather than seek ways to resolve this debacle, the issue have since been overtaken by ethnicity, bigotry and politics. It is no longer about the moral burden created by the failure of these two governments to come to the aid of the poor rather, it has degenerated to the issue of Lagos state now wearing the toga of anti-Igbo and anti-Anambra, while some led by the APC spokesperson in Lagos state and Director General of Lagos State Infrastructure & Maintenance Regulatory Agency, Joe Igbokwe (who hails from Anambra state) blaming the Igbos as being the cause of all the armed robberies, drug trafficking and criminality in Lagos state. These positions taken by the actors in the saga are not helpful, and in the coming weeks and months the various political parties in Anambra state will select the candidates that will fly their flag in the November governorship election and the only party that will be confronted with the issues surrounding this crisis will be the All Progressive Congress, APC. Because propaganda will be employed as a political tool in the run up to the polls as a way of creating doubts in the minds of voters, this issue will exploited by the candidates and parties to undermine whoever will be the flag bearer of the APC. The man who is widely expected to fly the APC’s flag come November 2013 in Anambra state is currently the Senator representing Anambra Central Senatorial District, Dr. Chris Nwabueze Ngige, and he has come out to defend the action of the Lagos state government. He told the whole world that Lagos state government out of magnanimity chose to provide care to several destitute roaming the streets, and who were eventually brought to Onitsha to re-unite with their families but unfortunately there was nobody to receive them at Upper Iweka and therefore left to their fate. Senator Ngige is trying to justify the action of the Lagos state government because of his ambition to govern Anambra state on the platform of the APC. If the Lagos state government were that caring, why did they abandon the so called destitute at Upper Iweka in the dead of the night? And Senator Ngige posited that the destitute were left at a government office at Bridge Head, meanwhile these people were dumped at Upper Iweka, a known criminal territory. READ: He Has No Anti-Igbo Agenda: Ngige Backs Fashola In Lagos-Anambra “Deportation” Saga When Senator Chris Ngige finally clinches the ticket of the APC to run for the governorship election in November, instead of going on the offensive to detail why he is coming back to govern again and what he intends to do, he will end up being on the defensive with barrage of questions on the campaign trail. Regardless of party affiliations, Ndi Anambra still regard President Jonathan as one of their own and questions will arise as to why Ngige chose the platform of the APC, a party that has vowed to wrest power from Jonathan. More so, there will be questions surrounding the personality of Tinubu as a person rumoured to be collecting “revenues” from the governors of South West. But the question that may become a nightmare for APC in Anambra state 2013 governorship election will be that of the deportation of citizens to Anambra state. Not even Governor Fashola’s fence mending meeting with AKA IKENGA will wish away the propaganda that will be weaved around the incident with the intention of discrediting and weakening the APC with the intention to deny Senator Chris Ngige a second chance at governing Anambra state.
Posted on: Sun, 04 Aug 2013 15:34:39 +0000
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